After a few lean years, the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund and its board of directors have new life.

At Tuesday’s Malvern Borough Council meeting, board president Bruce Knapp detailed the group’s recent struggles and renewed hope for the future.

“We didn’t get much of a response from the community for a couple years, but we didn’t participate, either, and it’s a two-sided coin,” Knapp said.

Knapp said that the financial situation was “bleak” a year ago at this time, which led to a remaking of the organization.

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“We had to reevaluate how we were working, what our goals were and how to get out of the situation,” Knapp said. “Thankfully, we started some outreach programs, and the message has finally taken.”

First, there was an influx of new personnel. While four board members had vacated their spots, six more signed on.

“We’ve brought in a lot of interesting and qualified people, with skills in marketing, financial planning, project management, education, video production and a number of other talents,” Knapp said.

The efforts of board vice president Jim Christ have taken the group to a new multimedia level.

“Jim has taken a load off of my shoulders, and more than that, he has brought us into the digital age,” Knapp said.

Christ has created a Facebook page and Twitter account, while implementing a PayPal donations option on the group’s website.

Knapp said he has been busy setting up “strategic partnerships” with historic entities like Valley Forge National Historical Park, Friends of Valley Forge and the Chester County Historical Society to further promote the Paoli site and to craft future events and offerings.

Knapp said the board will work with the Historical Society in attempting to secure National Historic Landmark status, which has become somewhat easier and cheaper with recent changes to the process.

“It’s going to be a much bigger landmark eventually,” Knapp said.

Knapp said the board would like to see the battlefield become more of a destination for history-based gatherings, and that it could develop an annual event for veterans, perhaps tied to Malvern’s Memorial Parade, the oldest in the country.

The British surprise attack on American troops at Paoli on Sept. 20, 1777 resulted in 53 Americans killed and over 200 wounded or captured. It is considered a massacre because of the reported atrocities committed by the British.

The Paoli site features the second-oldest war memorial (erected in 1817) in the United States, and the oldest in Pennsylvania. It is considered a “pristine” battlefield due to the lack of development that has taken place.